Stories for February 23rd 2017

Ex Falkland’s governor Sir Cosmo Haskard KCMG MBE passed away peacefully at his home in Tregariff, County Cork, Ireland on Tuesday. Sir Haskard was Governor from 1964 to 1970, an advocate of the Islands and played a major role in preventing the transfer of sovereignty to Argentina. He celebrated his 100th birthday last year.

Mayors of Rosario, Argentina and Liverpool, Monica Fein and Joseph Anderson signed a human rights cooperation agreement on Wednesday in Liverpool, the first of its kind between Argentine and British cities since the 1982 conflict.

Argentine president Mauricio Macri started an official state visit to Spain on Wednesday and was received with a display of full military honors of the Royal Household at the Royal Palace. Following a meeting with King Felipe, the president left for Congress where he addressed the full house.

President Donald Trump has become one of the new stars of Brazil’s Carnival, with masks of his face on sale in the costume stores in Sao Paulo and appearing everywhere at the street fetes preceding the “world’s biggest party,” which starts this weekend.

Ecuador's electoral commission has formally ruled that a runoff election will be needed to choose a successor for socialist President Rafael Correa. The body's announcement on Wednesday confirms its earlier indication that ruling party candidate Lenin Moreno and conservative former banker Guillermo Lasso will face off in an April 2 vote.

Tareck El Aissami, the recently appointed vice president in Venezuela, took out a full-page in The New York Times on Wednesday to rebuke sanctions against him and other Venezuelan officials leveled by the US government over drug trafficking charges. El Aissami, who was named alongside an alleged associate, was declared by the US Treasury Department to be a specially designated narcotics trafficker for allegedly playing a significant role in international narcotics trafficking.

Brazil's Foreign Minister Jose Serra resigned citing health concerns, in a new blow to Michel Temer's administration. Serra, 74, said health problems made him unable to keep up with the rhythm of leading the foreign ministry of Latin America's biggest nation.

Argentine Antarctica Day was commemorated on Wednesday February 22 with different events recalling the day, 113 years ago when the country's flag was first flown in a met station in Laurie Island, in the south Orkneys. Since then, 1904, Argentina's presence south of 60o. has been uninterrupted, said Argentine defense minister Julio Martínez at the main celebration in the Foreign Affairs ministry.